[brian]

Kenya's health care system has lost thousands of nurses to foreign countries in the past five years. New data from the Nursing Council of Kenya, show that nearly 3,000 locally trained and certified nurses registered to work in foreign countries between 1999 and 2004.

The numbers, the result of a three-year project between the Nursing Council, the Ministry of Health and American Emory University, indicate more and more nurses have been emigrating in recent years, the vast majority to the UK and US. Nursing experts say many of the leavers are the most experienced and best-trained.

While 48 Kenyan nurses applied to work abroad in 1999, this number increased yearly to a high of 967 in 2003. Last year saw a drop to 684 foreign registrations, an indication that the exodus may be slowing. However, Kenyan nursing officials maintain the flight of nurses is contributing to a severe shortage of health workers and crippling healthcare in the country.

Full Story: 3,000 nurses have left Kenya since 1999, reveals study [East African,Kenya]